No doubt that a good butt is one of the most coveted features on the body for women.
A well rounded and perky backside makes you look better and feel more confident in jeans, shorts, dresses, bathing suits, basically anything you put on!
There are countless fitness claims out there that promise they've got all the secrets out there to achieving the desired booty. With so many myths out there about the proper way to train your glutes, its hard to know which way is the best path to take.
Let's set the record straight on some of the most popular myths when it comes to building your booty.
Myth 1: You Need To Lift Heavy
To understand this myth, first we need talk about how the glute muscles are made up of both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. Fast twitch fibers help you move quickly for shorter periods of time, while slow twitch muscle fibers move more slowly for a longer period of time.
Slow twitch fibers are used for endurance, while fast twitch fibers activate with bursts of energy. What does this mean? When we perform exercises to grow our glutes, we should perform a combination of heavy, low rep moves and lighter, high rep moves.
By incorporating a wide range of exercises, you are activating both slow and fast twitch fibers. In doing so, you are able to grow your glutes with both light and heavy work. When you want to go heavy you can use, kettle bells, barbells, and dumbbells. For lighter lifting use ankle weights, bodyweight or a set of BTES Bands!
Myth 2: Squats Are The Best Exercise
While squats are effective, they are not the only exercise to perform when you want to build your butt. We just talked about the slow and fast twitch fibers so now we know, there is a huge benefit to performing a wide variety of exercises on your glutes.
Your glutes are made up of three different muscles, the gluteus maximus, medius and minimus. In order to grow your booty you must work all three of these muscles. Check out my blog on How To Grow Your Glutes At Home Without Squats.
When training your glutes, make sure to include exercises like hips thrusts, and deadlifts. You can also include plyometric glute training (exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time) such as switch lunges, donkey kicks.
Myth 3: No Pain, No Gain
It is definitely a true tell that you crushed your workout if you are feeling sore the next day. But what if you aren't sore after a glute training session? Did the workout even do anything or make a difference?
It is a common mistake to think that your booty workout was unproductive if you are not sore the next day. The glutes are the biggest muscle group in the body so they can handle a lot! As long as you are feeling the burn during your workout, it is ok to not feel the soreness afterwards.
When your glutes are activated you will feel the muscles tightening and firing. This is crucial to make sure you are using the correct muscles during your workout. I've got a great 8 Minute Glute Activation workout for you to check out. This is the perfect pre-workout warm up for your glutes. When your glutes are properly engaged, you will get the best results from your workout.
Myth 4: Only Train Glutes Once A Week
Like I mentioned above, the glutes are the biggest muscle in the body. They are used every single day in our day to day maneuvers so they are very active even when we aren't targeting them.
Your glutes can handle a high volume and frequency of workouts. You don't need to worry about tiring them out, they can take it! By training your glutes multiple times a week you are increasing your efficiency.
Not sure what workouts to do when? I have done the hard work for you and put together a monthly calendar filled with a variety of workouts on the BTES APP!
Remember, it is still important for your body to recover. So go ahead and train your glutes a few times a week but don't forget to rest. In order to maintain your intensity during your workouts, you need to give your body proper time to rest, recover and rebuild. Want to learn more about post workout recovery? Read my blog on 7 Tips on Workout Recovery to make sure your body is getting everything it needs after a workout.
When you are building that booty, be sure to keep these glute training myths in mind. IT IS possible to obtain the backside that you desire. Keep your eyes and mind on the prize!
Enjoy growing that booty!
Love, Rebecca
